The Sheep Detective | Movie Review

The Sheep Detectives (2026) Director: Kyle Balda
Writers: Craig Mazin (screenplay), Leonie Swann (novel)
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Tosin Cole, Hong Chau, Emma Thompson, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, Brett Goldstein, and Rhys Darby
Runtime: 109 min
Rated: PG (Canada), G (Quebec & British Columbia), PG (MPAA) for thematic material, some violent content, and brief language.

(There will be some spoilers in this review, but the murder mystery’s solution will not be spoiled.)

Set in the picturesque UK countryside, viewers are quickly introduced to George (Hugh Jackman), a good shepherd who reads detective novels to his sheep every night. He cares deeply for them, giving each one a name. He raises them only for wool and would never sell them to the butcher Ham Gilyard (Conleth Hill). In fact, he is rather cross with a neighbouring shepherd, Caleb Merrow (Tosin Cole), who does exactly that with his own flock. When George is found dead, his sheep—led by the cleverest among them, Lily (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)—are determined to solve the mystery. Along the way, they confront the reality of death and learn to remember both the joyful and difficult parts of life. These are heavy themes for a family film, yet they are handled with honesty and a great deal of heart.

Minions (2015), Despicable Me 3 (2017), and Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) director Kyle Balda’s new film The Sheep Detectives (2026) is a loosely inspired adaptation of Leonie Swann’s 2005 novel Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story.

For fans of ‘cozy’ British murder mysteries, The Sheep Detectives feels closer to the gentle tone of the Father Brown (2013– ) or Sister Boniface Mysteries (2022– ) series, than the darker, grittier Broadchurch (2013–2017). The mystery itself is not the film’s strongest element—the reveal at the end is no Agatha Christie masterpiece—but that is not what makes the movie remarkable. After all, those other stories don’t feature talking sheep. Importantly, while the audience can hear both human and animal conversations, the humans and sheep cannot understand one another. This creates amusing situations as the sheep struggle to piece together events and the humans puzzle over the flock’s odd behaviour.

As in many murder mysteries, the story features a cast of local characters with possible motives like the conniving butcher and George’s rival shepherd the covetous Caleb along with Beth Pennock (Hong Chau), the local innkeeper; and Reverend Hillcoate (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), the parish priest; along with outsiders like big-city reporter Elliot Matthews (Nicholas Galitzine); and George’s estranged daughter Rebecca Hampstead (Molly Gordon). After George’s lawyer Lydia Harbottle (Emma Thompson) reads the will—revealing a potential multi-million-dollar inheritance—the hapless but earnest local constable, Officer Tim Derry (Nicholas Braun), clearly has his work cut out for him.

Christian viewers will quickly notice strong parallels between the good shepherd George and Jesus, the Good Shepherd. George redeems lost sheep, protects his flock from bad shepherds who care nothing for them, and shows special care for the winter lambs whom the rest of the flock looks down upon. Families—especially those with young Christians—would benefit from reading Psalm 23, Luke 15, and John 10 together after watching the film. By the time Jesus declares Himself the Good Shepherd in John 10, the biblical imagery is unmistakable. While Balda does not portray George as sinless or perfect, the film draws clear and intentional allusions between the two shepherds.

A particularly moving moment near the end sees the nameless “unloved” winter lamb—who helped solve the murder—receive his shepherd’s name: George. Christian viewers may feel the emotional weight of this scene, recognizing how, in baptism, they too receive the name of their Good Shepherd, Jesus, regardless of how the world or even the rest of the flock views them. Other scenes involving a tough ram named Sebastian (Bryan Cranston) being rescued from danger and sheep saved from the butcher further illustrate themes of unmerited grace and redemption.

Although the film deals with mature topics, Balda presents them accessibly. The sheep are horrified when they confront the true nature of death, yet the simpler belief they once held—that sheep simply become fluffy clouds in the sky—is not entirely dismissed. The film leaves the door open to eternal life rather than slamming it shut with a heavy-handed materialist answer. Christian families will want to discuss what Scripture actually teaches about death, but The Sheep Detectives provides an excellent opportunity for that conversation. One note would be to remind young viewers that the faithfully departed don’t live on only in memory but still spiritually live and rest in Christ as they await their bodily resurrection on The Last Day.

Is the film a faithful adaptation of Swann’s novel? No. In the book, George is a lonely, depressed drug dealer who manipulates a Christian woman into helping him commit suicide and then cover it up to appear as murder to conceal the reality of what had happened. The novel is far more cynical and less kind toward Christian themes. Balda and screenwriter Craig Mazin have transformed a much darker story into something generous, charming, and surprisingly rich in positive Christian content. One wonders whether they did so intentionally or simply drew on the deep Western cultural reservoir of shepherd-and-sheep imagery rooted in Scripture.

The voice performances are excellent—particularly Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Lily, Bryan Cranston as Sebastian, and Patrick Stewart as Sir Ritchfield—while Hugh Jackman brings warmth, strength, and gentleness to George. The computer-animated sheep integrate well into the live-action world, evoking the charm of Babe (1995) or Stuart Little (1999) blended with the spirit of a ‘cozy’ British mystery. There are some funny moments that will be greatly enjoyed by young viewers.

Overall, The Sheep Detectives is a heart-warming family film that is easy to recommend. While not explicitly marketed as a Christian movie, it contains more positive Christian content than many viewers will expect. Recent adaptations like Andy Serkis’s Animal Farm (2025) have been criticized for subverting their source material in a negative way; by contrast, Balda’s adaptation of Swann’s novel redeems and softens the original material in a positive direction. Families should enjoy it, though readers looking for the same tone in Swann’s novel will be disappointed making this one of the rare occasions where the film is better than the book.

Rev. Ted Giese, New Vice-President Elect, is lead pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada; an award-winning contributor to The Canadian Lutheran and movie reviewer for the “Issues, Etc.” radio program. Follow Pastor Giese on Twitter/X @RevTedGiese.

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